A Vampire in Kirkwall
by Dis Lexic
Summary: When a board out of his mind Dragonborn decides to hop on a boat to Thedas, you can probably guess that things are going to get complicated for Hawke and his merry band.
1. Chapter 1

A Vampire in Kirkwall

When a board out of his mind Dragonborn decides to hop on a boat to Thedas, you can probably guess that things are going to get complicated for Hawke and his merry band.

**The Dragonborn in this story is the one from my main playthrough. As you can guess by the title, he's a vampire lord. Hes not gonna vamp it up for every fight though since I've used it once in the entire playthrough. He is gonna be OP though. Please note that I've played the game once and don't know what the reactions to cirten characters are. So i'll just do what I think is accurate.**

**I dont own TES or DA**

Chapter 1

The docks of Kirkwall were bustling and filled with the shouts of orders and 'HEAVE HO!' along with the occasional agonised scream as someone pissed of the Qunari. Through all of this, a ship bearing the mark of the East Empire Trading Company, all the way from chilly Skyrim nosed its way into port. Standing at the prow, eager to set foot on land for the first time in four weeks, stands a man dressed in black leather armour that looked like it was made of strips of leather sown together. An eight pointed broach was attached to his lapel. He wore a pair of black gloves of a similar design with metal claws on the fingers and a pair of black leather boots with three straps. Attached to his belt was a copper mask that seemed to depict a tentacled head. (Vampire armour, Vampire gloves, Nightingale boots and Miraaks Mask). Sheathed at his side was a golden sword that seemed to glow like the sun and across the back of his belt was a viscous looking black dagger that seemed to be glowing red. (Dawnbreaker and Daedric Dagger.) On his right hand rested a ring that looked to be made of three joined rings of gold with two white gems set into it as decoration. (Ring of Erudite).

The man who wore these items was a Bosmer with white-blond hair, faintly glowing orange eyes and an exited expression on his face. This Mer was Omarus, the Dragonborn, Hero of the Stormcloak Rebellion, Archmage of the Collage of Winterhold, Listener of the Dark Brotherhood, Guildmaster of the Thieves Guild and Lord of the Volkihar Clan. The Mer had come to Thedas due to being board out of his mind. Not even the Drager in the tombs attacked him anymore. Heck, even the Falmer knew better than attack him. To make matters worse, since Alduin was killed, the Dragons had gone back into hibernation so no challenge there ether. So, after leaving his Guilds and castle in the capable hands of Tolfdir, Nazir, Brynjolf and Serana, he left Skyrim for Thedas in search of new adventures and exotic blood.

The Bosmer hopped of the prow of the ship straight onto the pier in an impressive display of agility, before helping the sailors to unload their cargo of potions, weapons and jewellery. Once the ship was fully unloaded, Omarus walked up the captain.

"My thanks for allowing me to travel with you," he said, handing the old man a purse full of Septims.

"The honour was all mine, Dragonborn," said the man, "Just be careful. This land is not kind to mages."

Omarus just laughed.

"If they try to take me, I'll send them to the Void."

"Divines watch over you," said the old man before turning to yell at some Dock hands.

The elf shook his head before turning towards the city. First job, find somewhere to stay. After procuring a room at an inn in Lowtown, Omarus headed out to find something to do. After wandering the city for a while, he came upon a pair of humans arguing with a dwarf. Omarus had to admit, he was fascinated by the Dwarves here, a side effect from rooting through Dwemer ruins looking for stuff to flog. He had to wonder whether this was where the Dwemer had fled to when the vanished from Skyrim. He shook himself free of his musings and continued on his way. He had just reached the Hanged Man when someone brushed past him, attempting to pick his pocket as they did. A second later, they found themselves flat on their back, a dagger to their throat, looking up into a pair of orange eyes that gleamed with an unnatural light.

"Never a good idea to steal from a thief," said Omarus as he smiled a smile that had once scared Odahviing enough to make him piss all over the floor of the Dragon hold. Needless to say, the would be pickpocket passed out after losing the contents of his bowls.

"I must say, that's a very impressive glare you've got there," said a voice.

Omarus got to his feet, sheathing his dagger, before he looked to the sound. The person who had spoken was a dwarf with golden-brown hair pulled into a ponytale and no beard, dressed in a brown shirt that was left open to reveal a rather hairy chest, brown gloves and boots, with a folded up crossbow on his back.

"Why thank you master Dwarf," said the Bosmer, smiling at the short humanoid, "I may have gone a little overboard with that. Still, he should have known better than to try something like that with me."

"Indeed, Guildmaster," said the Dwarf, getting a raised eyebrow from Omarus.

"How do you know my title?" he asked, curious as to how a Dwarf of the Free Marshes would know the identity of the leader of the Thieves Guild.

"I've been in contact with Vex for some time," said the Dwarf, "Varric Tethras, at your service."

"Omarus Nightsky."  
the two shook hands before entering the tavern and sitting at a table with tankards of ale

"I heard from Vex that you were something of Mercenary," said Varric as the two sat down.

"Yes, why you got a job?"

"As it happens yes," said Varric, "You see, my brother, Bartrand is planning an expedition into the Deeproads and we need more fighters. I've got a friend getting together some money to become a partner, but I get the feeling we'll need more people who can swing a sword."

"Pay me and point me in the direction of the person you want dead," said Omarus with a grin before clanking his tankard with Varrics and taking a long swig, before spitting out the alcoholic liquid.

"By the Divines, what is in this stuff?" he asked, running his finger over his tongue as Varric laughed at the blond elf.

A few days later, Omarus was heading back to the Hanged Man late at night after a successful hunting trip. It was so easy to get someone. Just walk around Lowtown at night looking a little lost and you're sure to get mugged eventually. The vampire had left four drained bandits lying in an alleyway and was now pleasantly stated.

He entered the Tavern and headed up to his room, before he was hailed by Varric. The Bosmer approached his friend, smiling at the dwarf.

"What can I do for you?" he asked.

"Some people want to meet you," said Varric, stepping back and allowing the Bosmer into his room.**(I am not going to describe all of the companions in DA)  
**"So, this is the Mercenary you hired," said Carver.

"That's me," said Omarus, "My name is Omarus Nightsky, Bosmer and badass."

"What's a Bosmer?" asked Fenris from his corner, prompting Omarus to drop his hood, showing off his pointy ears.

"It means Wood Elf, I'm from Tamreal," said Omarus.

"Ah! I thought I recognised your name!" shouted Isabela.  
"You've heard of me?" asked the blond elf.

"How could I have not heard of you?" said Isabela, "You're the Hero of the Stormcloak Rebellion and a Thain in every hold, not to mention you lead the Thieves Guild and the Collage of Winterhold."

"Ah, so you have heard of me."

Everyone looked at the blond in confusion.

"A Thain is an honour title given by the ruler of a Hold to a person who has done something to help the Hold," explained Omarus, correctly guessing the souse of their confusion, "In my case it was mostly from preventing villages being burnt down by dragons or preventing Necromantic rituals from bringing back overpowered bitch queens."

Fenris scoffed and muttered something that sounded like 'magic, of cause.'

Meanwhile, Hawke was talking quietly to Varric.

"Are you sure it's wise to trust the leader of a guild of thieves?" he asked the diminutive marksman.

"The man is a Thief with a heart of gold," said Varric, "He will go to the Fade and back for his friends and had faced down monsters and foes that make the Darkspawn look like gnats. At the same time, he's loyal to his pay check so long as the job doesn't threaten his friends. We can trust him Hawke. After a few adventures with him, he will literally walk across a bed of hot coals while coated in oil if it would keep us safe."

"You know him?" asked Hawke as he watched the blond elf trying to examine Fenris' Lyrium tattoos and the former slave try to get him away.

"I know of him," said Varric, "I know one of the thieves who work for him. According to her, the man once wiped out an entire army of bandits single handed when they killed a member of his guild. The man is skilled, powerful and very dangerous to his enemies."

Hawke looked at the elf who had given up on Fenris and was now irritating Anders about Justice who he claimed he could sense.

"This guy? You wouldn't think so from the way he's acting," said Hawke.

"Take him on a few jobs and you'll see," said Varric, before he joined the group.

"So tell us about Skyrim," said Varric, "I've heard some tales from Vex, but she's not much of a conservationist."

Omarus smiled before he pulled a rolled up map from his bag and unrolled it on the table in front of them, revealing a map of Skyrim.

"Skyrim is the northernmost province of Tamreal and is the homeland of the Nords," began to blond elf, "It is a harsh place, with cold weather all year round. The people that live there are hardy folk that put a great deal of stock into honour and skill with a blade. The land is split up into Holds, each of which is led by a Jarl. The entire country pays homage to the, High King who is elected from among the Jarls, as well as the Emperor of Tamreal. The land has a rugged and wild beauty about it that few other places can match."

He paused as his fingers traced over the map.

"Hea, its strange really. My introduction to the country wasn't the greatest. At the time I had nothing and was travelling to Skyrim start a new life. At the time, Skyrim was embroiled in a civil war between the Imperial Legion and the Stormcloaks. I had the bad luck to be crossing the border from Cyrodiil at the same place as a group of fleeing rebels were trying to leave the country. I got caught up in an ambush and mistaken for one of the group."

"What happened?" asked Bethany, completely enthralled by the tale.

Omarus smiled and tapped the human mage on the nose.

"Ah, that is a story for another time my dear. Now is a description of my home."

Omarus spoke of the Religion of Tamreal, of the Nine Divines and the Daedra. That subject raised some alarms in the Mages and Fenris.

"You mean Demons?" questioned Anders.

Omarus thought for a moment before answering.

"Not exactly. It would be more accurate to say that Demons are Daedra. What you refer to as the Fade, I would call the Quagmire, a shifting realm of nightmares with a black citadel in the centre, yes?"

At the mages nod, Omarus continued.

"That is one of the Realms of Oblivion, ruled by Vaermina the Prince dreams and nightmares. She reaches out from her black throne to consume the memories of Mortals, leaving horrific visions in her wake. She was the only Daedric prince that I outright refused to help, choosing to instead destroy her artefact. Don't mistake the Daedra for evil, though. There are good ones. Azura, the lady of Dawn or Meridia, the Prince of Life whos sword I wield. Most Daedra are neutral towards Mortals, viewing us as curiosities or annoyances. I do not really follow anyone, choosing to instead pay my respects them."

Omarus then moved on the subject that interested everyone. Magic.

"So your telling me that everyone in Tamreal can use Magic?" asked Anders as Omarus tossed a fireball up and down in his hand, "And the mages aren't subjugated or repressed in any way? Or even that there's no forbidden magic?"

"Yup," said Omarus, "Necromancy was forbidden 200 years ago, but these days it's merely frowned upon. So long as you don't advertise it or start killing people to practice it, people don't really care."

"So how does magic work?" asked Bethany, eager to learn more.

"Magic is spilt up into five schools, consisting of Destruction, Alteration, Conjuration, Restoration and Illusion. Destruction covers battle spells, allowing for the control of Fire, Ice and Lightning."

He demonstrated by summoning each to his hand.

"Alteration covers changing the physical world around you, such as hardening your skin against blows, Telekinesis, transmutation and water breathing, not my best school I'll admit, but very useful. Restoration is pretty self-explanatory. It covers healing and the creation of wards to protect the caster. Illusion is also pretty self-explanatory, allowing the user to affect the minds of those around them, becoming invisible or to cause there enemy's to fight each other. Conjuration is the most controversial school as it is the heading which Necromancy falls under, as well as allowing the user to summon weapons and Daedra from Oblivion."

As he was talking, Omarus had been demonstrating the some spells as he said them, using Oakflesh, moving a spoon around with his Telekinesis spell, turning a lump of iron he found in his pack to silver, a basic healing spell and ward, invisibility, bound sword and finally conjuring up a Flame Atronach, something that caused the mages to back up slightly. The Atronach tilted her head on one side and seemed to pout at that before she zeroed in on Hawke and zoomed over to him before draping her flaming form over his shoulders.

"Hey handsome, wanna go play?"

Omarus smacked a hand into his forehead at that.

"Don't mind Ember, she's been like that since I first conjured her," he said, ignoring the wide eyed looks of everyone else in the room as Hawke tried to get away from the fire spirit, "She took a liking to me and comes whenever I call. It's a little annoying really."

The Atronach pouted at the blond elf before she let go of Hawke and zipped over to Omarus, stopping just in front of him and putting a finger on her chin in a sultry manner.

"You don't really mean that, do you?" she question in a tone far too cute to be real.

"Yes," deadpanned Omarus before flicking the Atronachs head, making her vanish back to Oblivion.

"What manner of demon was that?" demanded Fenris, grabbing his great sword before he found himself paralysed by a green aura.

"A flame atronach," said Omarus as he took Fenris great sword from his frozen grip and spun it around like a birch twig, "Not the most powerful of summons, but they get the job done."

He finally took note of the shocked looks of everyone in the room and the frozen glear on Fenris' face.

"What? I did say that the magic was very different. Anyone can learn it, even tall frozen and scowly here. All you need is a spellbook, a mana potion for when you run dry and a bit of practice."

"Have you got any of these spellbooks?" asked Anders, prompting Omarus to open his bag and start rummaging. A moment later, he pulled out a purple book with a strange sigil on the front.

"I get the feeling that you're not interested in Conjuration?"

At Anders head shake he dropped the book to the side and began rummaging again, emerging a moment later with a brown book with a flame like sigil on the front which he passed to Anders.

"This is a tome for Frostbite, a basic Destruction spell."

Anders took the book and opened it. There was a flash of light and the book disintegrated as Anders clutched at his head.

"Ah, I'd forgotten how unconformable that is the first time," said Omarus, chuckling lightly, "Spellbooks aren't just made with paper and ink. Magic is woven into the pages that allow it to send the information directly into the mind of the one who reads it with the intention to learn. Once used, the magic destroys the book. Much easier than having to learn the spells, but it does mean that you can't use more than ten books a day unless you want to melt your brain."

Anders ignored him, instead focusing on the fact he could feel the knowledge of the Frostbite spell in his mind. He raised a hand and watched as it filled with ice cold mist before he thrust his fist forwards, sending out a blast of fog that coated the table in ice.

"Whoa," murmured Anders as he stared at his hand, "I can feel the magic guiding my hand."

"Yup, sounds about right," said Omarus as he upended his bag, causing a large number of spellbooks to fall out, "Hear ya go. This is all the spellbooks I've got with me. If you want more, talk to the Tamrealen traders when they arrive. Night!"

The elf walked out of the room, humming to himself as he went.

The next morning, Omarus was woken by someone pounding on his door.

"All right, I'm coming," he said as he opened the door and saw it was Hawke, "What do you want this early in the morning?"

Hawke gave him a look.

"It's almost noon."  
Omarus shrugged, leaning on his door.

"I'm nocturnal," he said, "So, what can I do for you?"

"Varric sent me to get you," said Hawke, "It's time to get ready for the expedition."

Omarus grunted and re-entered his room, returning a moment later in his armour and weapons with a bag slung over his shoulders, chugging a red potion from a decorative bottle. The elf finished his potion and tossed the empty bottle back into his room. It didn't take long to reach the meeting point in Hightown. The two males joined the rest of the expedition as Bartrend started to brief them. Omarus tuned him out in favour of looking at his companions for the trip. He noted Hawkes group all standing together, with Anders messing around with his new magic and Fenris glaring in his direction. There was an additional elf there and Omarus guessed it was the Merrill he had heard about from Varric. He looked the young female elf over and saw that she was quite attractive with her black hair, pale skin and brown eyes. He was rather interested in the blood magic she used. Not to learn it, he had no intention of learning a power that required you to cut yourself, rather for its connection to the source of his power. He zoned back in as Bartrand finished up his brief and got to watch a family sprat as Bethany argued that she should come with them and her mother argued against. Wanting to hurry Hawke up, he walked up the family and cleared his throat.

"Um, may I make a suggestion?"

The three Hawkes turned glears on the elf.

"You could always take a vacation to Winterhold," continued Omarus, ignoring them, "it may do you some good to get away from the threat of the Templars. If you go to the Docks and talk to Kjar he'll grant you passage."

"That's not a bad idea," said Bethany, "But how will I pay him?"

Omarus passed her a purse of Septims.

"That'll be enough to pay Kjar and the carriage driver to take you to Winterhold," said the elf, "I'd pack for snow since that's all it ever does at the Collage. When you get there give Faralda this note and she'll grant you access. Don't take her seriously. Shes always irritable."  
Bethany nodded and took the note before giving the elf a quick hug and running off.

"Are you sure that was wise?" asked Hawke, "You did say that Skyrim is a dangerous place."  
"True enough," said Omarus, "But it's not like she'll be wandering the wilds alone. She's going to a school for Sithis sake. Besides, it'll do her good to get away from the Templars breathing down her neck for a bit."

Hawke conceded the point before turning to his party as Bartrand walked up to Omarus.

"So you're the Merc my brother highered?" asked the irritable dwarf, "Humph. You don't look like much. Still, my it's my brother who's paying you so I shouldn't complain."  
The dwarf walked of, oblivious to Omarus' 'Demon smile' as Serana had dubbed it that was directed at his back.

At that moment, Hawke came over accompanied by Varric, Merrill and Anders.

"Varric, I mean know offence, but your brother is as pleasant as a bad tempered Skeever," growled Omarus.

"None taken," said Varric, "Your right of course, but he's still my brother."

"Everyone ready?" shouted Bartrand, "Then let's go!"

**First chapter done. The next will cover the events in the deep roads, which will be severely AU once they reach the dwaven ruins. Quick question. What do you think is worse, Darkspawn or the Dragons?**


	2. Chapter 2

A Vampire in Kirkwall

When a board out of his mind Dragonborn decides to hop on a boat to Thedas, you can probably guess that things are going to get complicated for Hawke and his merry band.

**I dont own TES or DR.**

Chapter 2

Omarus examined the massive pile of rocks and rubble in front of him with irritation clear in his eyes. The journey started off quite well, with the group only running into a few, easily taken out groups of monsters. Now however, they had reached a cave in that had blocked there way. Now, Omarus was no stranger to cave ins, having had to find alternate routes to them in the past while spelunking, but that didn't mean he had to like it. He turned away from his inspection of the massive pile of rocks in time to see Bartrand punch out a scout.

"Was that necessary?" asked the blond elf in a tired voice, having gotten used to the irritable dwarfs antics. Said dwarf ignored the comment and ordered Hawke and his group to go scout where the actual scout hadn't and try to find a way around the blockage. As the group moved to head out, Omarus jogged up behind them.

"Mind if I join you?" he asked, "I'm getting board of just sitting around waiting for something to jump out and try to eat me."

Merrill gave him an odd look as Hawke answered his question.

"Yeah sure, more the merrier and we're less likely to get eaten."

Omarus grinned and joined the group. It didn't take long for them to run into a few packs of Darkspawn and even less time to put them down with a few well-placed spells from Anders and Merrill and a bit of fancy sword-work from the two swordsmen. During the fight, Omarus made a rather interesting discovery when he sliced one in half with his Dawnbreaker and the corps had exploded.

"Hmm, that's interesting," said the elf as he examined the scorched body, "Apparently Lady Maridea views these things as undead."

"Who's Maridea?" asked Merrill.

"The Daedric Prince of Life Energy," replied the other elf distractedly, "My sword is her artefact. It burns with a holy fire that's very effective against the undead."

Once Omarus had finished his examination of the scorched Darkspawn corpses, the quintet continued along the path, fending off and exploding the odd group of Darkspawn as they went. Eventually they came to a cavern full of glowing vanes of Lyrium and Sandal, one of the hirelings son, who was surrounded by a circle of dead Darkspawn.

"Sandal, are you alright?" asked Hawke, relived the boy was safe, "Did you do this."

The boy nodded and handed the rouge a small rune.

"Boom."  
"And how did you do that?" asked Hawke, indicating to the frozen figure of a roaring Ogre.

"Not enchantment," said the Lyrium addled dwarf before wandering off in the direction of camp.

"How the hell did he do this?" asked Omarus, studying the frozen Ogre, poking it with an arrow. The statue cracked and shattered, collapsing into a pile of ice shards.

"Do you have to touch everything?" demanded Hawke as the rest of the party looked on in shock.

The party continued on their way, slaughtering more Darkspawn, until they emerged from the tunnel on the other side of the cave in. they were just entering the large chamber on the other side when Omarus froze.

"Crap," was all he said before diving out of the way of a blast of fire. The rest of the squad looked up to see an enormous dragon flying towards them. Unlike the dragons Hawkes crew had encountered in the past, this dragon only had four limbs it was orange in colour with blue dorsal markings and had wide, flat ridges that ran the length of its body and tail beginning at the back of its skull. Its mouth was beaked and completely lacked teeth.

"**DOVAHKIIN YOU MADE A MISTAKE COMING HERE!" **it roared, making Hawkes band freeze in shock, **"YOU AND THESE JORR WILL DIE IN ALDUINS NAME! I AM VULTHURYOL AND I AM YOUR DEATH! YOL TUL SHUL!"**

The dragon roared, unleashing a sheet of fire at the quartet of mortals and one vampiric Dragonborn.

"Like hell," said Omarus, staring the fire blast down, "You will not touch my comrades. YOL TUL SHUL!"

The shout left his lips in a sheet of flame, colliding with the Dragons breath and battling for supremacy, aided by two Flame spells that leaped from the elfs fingers and added power and heat to the Dragon fire projecting from his lips. The two Flame Breath Shouts remained balanced for a moment before the energy built up by the two conflicting forces exploded, covering the room in dust. Omarus grabbed his three mortal companions and dragged them behind a large chunk of rubble as the dragon roared in fury.

"Any of you have experience fighting dragons?" asked the elf, serious for once.

Hawke nodded, shaking off the shock of a talking dragon and his new friend breathing fire.

"We encountered a couple in the Bone Pits, but this one's different."

The point was proven when the rubble chunk they were hiding behind was coated in ice.

"Somehow I doubt you've ever fought one of these," said Omarus, peeking out from behind there shield before ducking back in to avoid a tail swipe, "That's a Tamrealen Dragon and there pretty tough. Not even I would face an Ancient Dragon like this alone."

"**COME ON OUT DOVAHKIIN SO I CAN BURN YOU TO ASH!" **roared the dragon, lobbing a chunk of pillar at the quintet with its tail.

"Whats a Dovahkiin?" asked Merrill as Anders blasted the pillar to dust.

"A story for another time," grumbled Omarus before pulling out his bow and nocking an arrow, "Let's kill this thing and then discuss old tales."

The elf crouched and vanished in a puff of smoke as he activated the Nightingales Shadow. A moment later, the Dragon roared in pain as an arrow pierced its scales.

"Over here ugly," shouted Omarus from the other side of the room, another arrow nocked and drawn back. The Dragon roared in fury and unleashed another breath attack that Omarus ducked under.

"Don't just stand there, help me take this sucker down!" shouted the blond at Hawkes band. That spurred them into action. Hawke charged in and began to hack away at the dragon as Varric and Merrill began hammering it with spells and Anders did his best to keep them healed.

Omarus dashed forwards, Dawnbraker in hand, and scored a deep cut to the large lizards wing, making it roar in pain. The massive monster snapped at the much smaller Dovah and was met with a lightning bolt to the face for its trouble. The Dragon roared in fury as Omarus leaped onto its neck and began wrestling with it, occasionally stabbing it with his sword.

"Just die already!" shouted the elf as he plunged the sword deep into the Dragons skull. The Dragon roared in pain before collapsing as its brain was incinerated by the enchantments on the Dawnbraker. Omarus sighed and hopped of the Dragons back before making his way over to a large wall with many odd carvings on it. He stood before it for a moment before a grin came over his face.

"That'll be helpful," he said before turning to the Dragon corps that seemed to be burning and releasing an energy that entered the Elfs body, making him glow momentarily.

"What was that?" asked Anders.

"A story for another time," said the elf as he turned his attention on the large structure up ahead. As he did his eyes widened, "Oh, that's not good."

The reason for his statement was the fact that he recognised the structure in question, having come across one in the ruins of Arkngthamz along with the ghost of Katria. It was a Tonal Lock and, unlike the last time, he had no clues as to the combination.

"Whats the matter?" asked Hawke.

"That," he said, pointing at the lock, "We're not getting through that any time soon. Let's get the rest of the expedition and we can start seeing about finding a way past that."

Half an hour later, Hawkes crew, Omarus and Bartrend were standing in front of the Tonal Lock while everyone else set up camp and admired the dragon skeleton.

"So, what's the problem?" asked Bartrend irritably.

Omarus waved his hand at the Dwemer artifact.

"This," he said, "It's called a Tonal Lock and can only be opened by striking those in the correct order."

"So?"

"So, we can't just go in blindly," said Omarus, "The last one of these I saw caused an earthquake when it was done incorrectly. One screw up and we could all die."  
"You seem to know a lot about this," said Varric.

"I've gained a bit of a reputation as an authority on Dwemer ruins back home," said the Elf, "And any idiot knows not to go exploring those places without due preparation. Darkspawn are the least of our worries now. Dwemer ruins are nearly always crawling with Constructs and Falmer, neither of which I want to fight."

"Well, how the hell are we supposed to get in?" demanded Bartrand, "We've come too far to turn back now."

"Start by looking for any clues around here," stated Omarus, "Have the hirelings bring anything they find to me and I'll see if I can figure out the code."

"Can't we just blast through it?" grumbled the dwarf.

"And destroy such a priceless artifact?" asked Omarus, "Not likely. Besides, you'll probably activate every trap in that thing. Just take a look around and tell everyone not to touch the Resonators with anything."

The group moved off, Bartrand to give orders, Hawkes group to help with the search and Omarus to study the Tonal Lock.

"Well well, I didn't think I'd see you again," said a voice from behind him.

Omarus spun round and saw the speaker was the ghost of a tall Nord woman armed with a bow and daggers.

"Katria?" asked Omarus, "what are you doing here? I thought you passed on when we found the Aetherium Forge."  
"So did I," agreed the spectral archeologist, "I woke up here a few days ago. Seems our journeys not over yet. I think I discovered where the Dwemer got there Aetherium from."  
Omarus raised an eyebrow.

"Oh?"

"It's processed Lyrium," said the Ghost, "This was their main mine and processing plant. If we can get through this door, you'll be able to make more stuff at the Forge."  
Omarus' eyes went glassy at the idea of being able to work with more of the legendary resource.

"Any clues?" he asked once he'd snapped out of eager blacksmith mode.

"not a one," said Katria, making Omarus facefault before glaring at her.

"Fat lot of good you are then," muttered the elf before a startled gasp brought his attention to some random hireling who was staring at the blue form of Katria in fear and shock.

"Over here idiot," said Omarus, drawing the man's attention, "What you got for me?"

"Well, we found a dead body under a pile of stones," said the man, shaking off his shock from seeing the blue ghost, "We found this journal on it."

The man passed Omarus a battered book.

"Problem is, we can't read it," finished the man as Omarus opened it and skimmed the words.

"Hmm," said the elf, "it's written in Falmer. According to this, the author found out the combination but was caught and injured by Darkspawn. It belonged to… Taron Dreth. Well that's ironic."

The elf stood and gave a peacing whistle before waving over Hawke and Bartrand.

"Whats up and whos this?" demanded Bartrand, glaring at Katria's spectral form.

"This is Katria, an old friend who happens to be dead," said Omarus, ignoring the shocked looks from the two Thedasens, "I have the combination."

"Then get it open!" shouted Bartrand before storming off.

Omarus scowled before drawing his bow and shooting off five arrows at the Kinetic Resonators in rapped succession. A moment later, the doors opened and allowed a dead Darkspawn to slump forwards revealing a back full of arrows. Omarus walked up to it and removed one, examining the head before growling.

"Falmer."

"What exactly are Flamer?" asked Varric.

"Snow Elves," answered Katria, "Centuries ago they were driven underground by Ysgramor and his 500 companions. They made a deal with the Dwemer, but were betrayed and blinded, forced to work as slaves for centuries before the Dwemer simply vanished. Now though, the Falmer are twisted shadows of their former selves."

She pointed at a dead Falmer corps that was leaning against the wall with a large sword wound on its torso.

"And Dwemer?  
"Tamrealen Dwarves," said Omarus, "And these are the ruins of one of their cities. I had no idea they had crossed the sea, but I suppose they had to go somewhere."

The Dwarves in the group all looked a little ill at what there distant cousins had done. The party made their way into the ruins, looking around at the pipes, carvings and metal work in awe. Eventually, they reached a wide, open room with four different exits. Once everyone was there, Omarus stopped them.

"This would be the best place to set up camp," he said, "Its easily defendable and has a straight rout to the exit. Make sure to make barricades in all of the exits to the room and keep someone on watch at all times."

Bartrand puffed up at the elf taking charge but a quick glair shut him up.

"Don't say anything. If it was up to me, we would have left as soon as we found the Tonal Lock and returned with more fighters. Since that's not an option, you will listen to me and Katria while down here."

Bartrand looked ready to argue but was interrupted by Varric.

"Listen to him brother," said the dwarf, "He knows what he's talking about."

Bartrand growled and stalked off, shouting orders as he went.

Once the camp was set up, Hawkes group sat across the fire from Omarus while Katria lounged off to the side.

"All right, explain," said Hawke, leaving no room for argument.

Omarus sighed and began his tale.

"You remember how I told you I got caught with a group of rebals?" he asked, getting nods, "Well, I was mistaken for one of them and taken prisoner. We were taken to the town of Helgen and sentenced to death. When it came to be my turn, I was ready to meet my death with honour, in spite of the whole thing being a mistake. But, before the Headsman could kill me, a Dragon attacked."

The Elf told his tale, from his escape for Helgan to Bleak Falls Barrow and up to Whiterun. He told the four friends of his first Dragon kill, how he had absorbed the Soul and unlocked the Thu'um. He told of his pilgrimage to High Hrothgar and the teachings of the Greybeards. He told them of all his adventures, right up to how he defeated Alduin in Sovngarde. (AN basically the main quest line in Skyrim as if there had been no distractions)

Once the Dragonborn was finished the group sat in shocked silence for a moment.

"So, you've fought a Dragon that was destined to end the world, a being that could devour the souls of the dead, and lived?" asked Varric. Omarus nodded his eyes full of pain as he remembered. The real reason he always fought and travelled alone wherever possible was so that he could avoid losing friends. That and most of the people he had met were awful at stealth.

"You've lead a pretty interesting life," said Hawke. Omarus snorted.

"An understatement if there ever was one," muttered the blond before speaking up, "That isn't all the stories I have of my adventures and I'm pretty sure that I'll end up telling you them as time goes on."

"Why not now?" asked Merrill who was utterly enthralled by the blonds skills as a story teller and of his incredible adventures.

Omarus chuckled wearally.

"Because they are numerous and long," he said, "But, I suppose another couldn't hurt. Alright, let me tell you of how I got my blade. I had just cleared out a camp of bandits and was looting the chests when I came upon a strange stone..."

The rest of the night passed quickly as Omarus told the four adventurous from Kirkwall the tales of some of his adventures. Before any of them knew it, Bartrand was calling for lights out and the group reluctently broke up. That night, Hawkes band dreamed of the towering mountains and endless pine forests of Skyrim. Of caverns and ruins filled with treasure and adventure. Never before had any of them heard a person weave stories with such easy, even Varric was impressed with the elfs skill. By the next morning, each of them was determined to one day see the snow covered lands of Skyrim.

**END. I hope you liked it. I'm not to sure about the end in all honesty, but I felt that was as good a place as any. I hope people like my idea of where Aetherium comes from and my idea of including one of my favourite quest companions. Why is she my favourite? Because she's already dead and wont keep getting in my way when I'm trying to snipe a Falmer. Next time, the real origin of the Darkspawn will be revealed. Please review.**


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